Panthera launches precision appliances for sleep apnea : Ireland's Dental Magazine

Panthera launches precision appliances for sleep apnea

Panthera Dental launches precision-made appliances for snoring and sleep apnea in UK and Ireland

Dentists now have the opportunity to prescribe world-leading precision-made oral appliances from Panthera Dental (Quebec, Canada) for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and snoring, which affects billions of people worldwide and is a growing market. The launch in UK and Ireland follows other new market launches this year in France and Germany and the opening of a new office in Paris.

Panthera Dental has grown rapidly in recent years to become a major player in North American sleep dental markets. Its custom-made Digital Sleep Apnea Devices (D-SADs) are designed and manufactured using high-precision proprietary CAD/CAM processes and 100% medical-grade type-12 polyamide nylon. This material has proved to be a game-changer in oral appliance manufacture, being at once light, smooth, strong, flexible, highly durable and resistant to bruxism. The D-SADs are also extremely customizable with a wide range of plateaus and bands allowing for over 300 design combinations. All Panthera appliances can be adapted to every possible patient morphology, from basic to the most complex. They are uniquely simple and easy to care for.

*Panthera Classic Digital Sleep Apnea Device (D-SAD)*

“Recent studies have shown that there are around 10 million people in UK with obstructive sleep apnea and 85% are undiagnosed. Millions more suffer from problem snoring. Many of them can benefit from Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT), a treatment which holds the jaw forward to increase space in the airway,” said Iain Spray, UK and Ireland Sales Manager at Panthera Dental.

“The effectiveness of OAT is recognised this year in new draft NICE guidelines recommending that it be provided by the NHS as an alternative to CPAP. We hope to further increase awareness of the benefits of OAT by virtue of the excellent outcomes our appliances can provide.”

Thousands of dentists in UK and Ireland have already recognised the opportunity to play a pivotal role in the identification and treatment of OSA. Through training provided by appliance manufacturers or national societies like ISDSM and BSDSM they can quickly become qualified to offer OAT in their practices. Indeed Panthera is organising expert-led training days in UK and Ireland in November to teach dentists the essentials of dental sleep medicine.

“Dentists are well placed to identify those with problem snoring and OSA. They can easily start the conversation with a simple question like ‘do you snore?’ and then screen their patients using questionnaires,” said Beatrice Robichaud, Co-Founder and VP Marketing & Customer Experience at Panthera Dental.

“When patients are treated with OAT, the dentist will be their primary caregiver throughout the course of their treatment. This involves not only the fitting and adjustment of the appliance but also careful monitoring for dental side effects and confirmation of ongoing treatment effectiveness. This can be highly rewarding work for a dentist; an opportunity to treat a debilitating medical condition and to change patients’ lives.”

*Panthera X3 Digital Sleep Apnea Device (D-SAD)*

Panthera Dental’s ‘Industry 4.0’ manufacturing process uses robotics and AI to produce appliances with unmatched precision and traceability, enabling dentists around the world to help many suffering patients live longer, better and healthier lives and provide an alternative solution to CPAP therapy. The Panthera D-SADs are indicated for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, have FDA 510(k) clearance and are CE marked.